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Forget recession and the dwindling real estate market---Seattle seems to have beaten the recession blue just the right way. Four new upscale condo projects that are coming up in downtown Seattle have recorded a speedy pre-sale.

The market analysts however, have reserved comments on the future of these high end projects. In the recent past, some of the less expensive Seattle condos had to be converted into apartments after the prospective buyers failed to make the promised payments over months.

But the developers of the four high end projects--- Olive 8, the Four Seasons Private Residences, Fifteen Twenty-one Second Avenue and Escala ---- are very much optimistic about the bright future of their projects. They hold that these flashy projects are meant for the high- income group and their confidence stems from the fact that recession is not going to affect the buying powers of the rich and the affluent. However, it will take months to see whether or not the assumption is correct.

However, several units in these four Seattle condos were reported as being pre-sold. Pre-selling refers to the putting down of money as soon as the project is open for sale. This is done in order to secure a particular unit and to take the advantage of pre-construction pricing. In case a buyer decides to walk away from the project, he/she would typically lose about 5 percent of the purchase price. So far as these four Seattle condos are concerned, the developers sound confident that few of their buyers would back out from the projects.

Four projects have recorded four different pre-sale records for themselves. At Escala, units are scheduled for occupancy in the next year. Here about 92 of 275 units --- roughly a third---are presold. The picture is even brighter at Olive 8, where 183 of the 229 units--- about 80 percent---have been presold.Of Fifteen Twenty-one’s 143 units, 138 are presold. That leaves only 3 percent units available for purchasing. At the Four Seasons Private Residences, 25 out of 36 units were presold within a week of opening.

Although it is unlikely, but walking away from the projects by some of the early depositors can not be altogether ruled out. Although the targeted customers are wealthy people with stable income, there can always be changes in life that may force some of these buyers to roll back on their commitments and take back their deposit from the developers.

The residents are allowed to move in the condominium only when the city issues a certificate of occupancy allowing residents to move in. The real estate experts are waiting to see how many pre-construction buyers will stick to the property to perform the final agreements. The experts refuse to predict anything until it actually happens.

However, the experts admitted of having seen a recent spurt in the percentage of condo buyers. As they explain: the trends over past 8/9 months have made the buyers conservative. While they want to make the purchase, the trends stop them from making speedy decisions. This makes the market for Seattle condos---luxury and affordable---a slow market, but not the one that has no activities. Demands for Seattle condos are definitely there and that helped the developers meet with their pre-sale expectations. Now they hope for a speedy sale for their left out units.

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